Overcast light rain as I left Oakland Friday morning, and hot and muggy when I landed at SeaTac. The Light Rail trip in was cool, saved me $40 each way! Popped up outta the station at Benaroya and took some quick photos. Walked a few blocks to Executive Hotel just to see if I could check in early, and I'm peeling off a layer. Hotel instantly handed me a cold water, thanks! Lady checking in next to me was asking, "Where's Benaroya..." And I did the Superman peel back the button shirt to show my EDVDDR CA Lisc Plate! Chatted with her, and I hope she got her hook up for tix that night ... she only had Sat night, all the way from Mexico!
I knew Elliot Bay Book Company was having a 20 percent off sale, so I took a casual 1 mile hike over there, sipping water, snapping photos of Seattle along the way. Folks at EB are awesome, hung out for over an hour with 2-3 different reps pulling books for my wife and kids. Left with my fully loaded second carry-on. Got a few smiles and thumbs up for my shirt (button shirt ditched in room).
And then a little gift from home, stumbled upon Specialties bakery -- simply the best cookies in SF, nice to see we could repay you for the awesome coffee, Seattle. Grabbed some cookies and a soda, and then over to Frans for the last gift for my fabulous wife ("I need my loved ones to let me go!") Yum!
Got my bearing on Rock Bottom, but had to get my goodies back to the cool confines of the hotel. Chatted with more folks in the lobby and elevator, everyone totally smiles and stoked for the night. Filled a laundry bag AND bucket with ice and got some water and soda iced down for after the show. Set a few cookies aside as well. A few.
Then I boogied over to the pre-party, complimented chalk-lady on her awesome street art! Good beer and company, nice to see the McCready Bobblehead on Auction! EV DVD playing, nice touch! Though I shielded my eyes, waiting for my songbook bundled with that. Thanks Wishlist Foundation! Great event!
But I didn't hang long, Rock Bottom was not my culinary destination. Started to rain (Indy's Release coming crashing back to me) as I made my way to Sazerac, great dishes and tasting flight of some fantastic WA wines -- meal would have been double the price in the Bay Area! Seattle! The Bargain Bay Area!
Now I was ready, but I had dallied too long! Got to Benaroya at 7pm and stood in line for that awesome poster through Glen's first few songs. Wish I had caught Hairshirt and Leave one more time ... goosebumps! Great folks from Toronto in line with me, everyone kept it light as we waited and waited. That was a nightmare ... but I'm glad I endured, popped out at intermission and those fantastic posters were GONE.
So, the S. Mark Taper Auditorium. Wow. Place gets PITCH BLACK. I was 2nd Tier Box N back in the left-hand rear corner, had the last seat in the box so I'm hanging in a corner to myself. And I'm afraid of heights, and those rails came up to my KNEES (and did I mention the beer and wine flight?) Sorry, I'm not standing for those ovations after nearly every song!
But the sound, fantastic. Great not to see extra security detail in there, just the typical ushers. Not much hassle in the boxes, but I saw a few deterrent flashlights here and there -- so much more relaxed than Oakland where security was simply brooding and menacing. Not fun.
Glen was awesome, worked in Faithful as well as Smile onto Astral Nights, apologized to Eddie, but said, "I've seen the setlist, no worries." I thought Liam was an excellent opener previously, still do -- better Hard Sun with drums and female accompaniment. But the vibe with Glen is just right, great fit, you can see the camaraderie between them. I'm a big fan now!
And then Eddie. As I posted from the airport Saturday morning ... just speechless. Folks have it right, crowd just so intently and intensely focused and quiet while he was singing, ('cept for that one bozo) and then just an absolute explosion after the last note is played.
Being a big fan, most of us can name that song in the first few notes. I always laugh when Ed finally starts singing and it lights someone up. That's a big song for you and you didn't know it until he sang? Thanks for the holler over ED SINGING! Heheh, yeah, I'll always have "critiques"....
I love Walking the Cow as an opener, sets the proper vibe for the show, the more relaxed lullaby style of these events, very "astral." Just launches me. One of my EV cover-favs (well, ok, they ALL are).
If there was one special moment in a night of such moments, the one gift we got was to hear Chris on Cello, the man who actually recorded Longing to Belong with Eddie. This was the first time he had played the track live with Eddie. I think all the songs had already made an appearance this tour.
And then when the full quartet come out, Eddie said, "Time to class up the joint." And introduced Lukin immediately saying, "I didn't say we'd play anything classy!"
But that final trio to end the first set was simply chilllllling, so emotional, what a sequence of songs: togetherness (Just Breathe), impending loss (The End), and primal scream of loss (Arc). Ouch. If your eyes were dry after that, you might wanna check if you have Asperger's! Reminds me of the opening sequence for "Up." A lifetime of joy, happiness and sorrow in 10 minutes.
And has been said, a phenomenal job on Arc -- it's different every time. I've seen it seven times now, not that I can remember each one, but Seattle just really lit me up.
And all of that just pales against Falling Slowly. I think that became the flag-bearer for this tour. Eddie's verse, "Well, you have suffered enough, and warred with yourself, it's time that you won." So loaded, so overpowering from his deep tenor at the beginning soaring up with the lyrics to his high wail....
It just encapsulated ever single reason I go to these shows. That line. That song. That show. The home crowd erupting as if a walk-off grandslam home run had just won the World Series. I can't really compare it to anything. I was at the show I needed to be at.
So many songs I wanted to hear, not that I hope for anything in particular anymore. No one had to call a medic for me because they were as much a basketcase as I after the soul-wrenchers. Not a bad song in the mix, not a single one I went, "meh..." And a new one on me, 4th of July, cool sing along! You need those light-flooding joy-filled peaks to handle those dark wrist-slashing valleys!
Oh my, I'm just so thankful to have witnessed that. Got to wrestle with some demons, unstuff some baggage, pack it all away and go skipping on my way by the end, whistling "Dream a Little Dream." Folks gobbling up Glen's albums at the merch table after, nice!
Stood in the rain across the street with some folks all just gushing as we waited for the sign to show Eddie's name and snap a shot. I had a few clubs lined up I was thinking of hitting, but knew I had an early flight, knew those cookies and an icy cold rootbeer was waiting for me in the hotel, knew I needed nothing else. Flopped down to SportCenter to see another Giants win, and back to the Light Rail and SeaTac at 8:30am, home by noon!
Turns out I wasn't speechless after all! I'm not sure I'll be able to shut up for weeks!
Take this sinking boat
And point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice
You had a choice
You've made it now
Thanks acutejam and vital 73 - reading your reviews was bringing back lots of good memories.
Arc was spectacular, and I keep getting waves of the the voice from the last part of it. It was kind of a primal experience hearing that - and the last part of the vocals were so unmistakeably 'Eddie' - from some deep part of himself - I don't know why, but the voice there really had me feeling we were sharing a room with the early 90s incarnation of Mr Vedder. Stunning. I feel privileged to have been a part of that.
The End was really strong - Ed's voice all night was just cutting right through the room, so clearly - and with the End I was so right there with him. At various times during the concert I found myself getting a bit 'too' intense - and I was glad when he played Lukin and some punchier numbers to spare me from some dark wanderings into the wayout places of my soul
Funny you should mention Elliot Bay books acutejam - because I was wearing my newly purchased Elliot Bay T-shirt during the concert (although it was so friggin frosty in there I never took my jacket off - so nobody would have seen it). I love that store, and whenever I come to Seattle, that is one of my first places to visit. This time it was Day 1 of my holiday! I don't know a better shop really.
Good times!
Cancel my subscription to the Ressurection
Send my credentials to the house of detention
I maybe should have written a review sooner, but it took a few days to fully absorb those shows! So amazing! The sound in Benaroya Hall is so extraordinary, I can't even describe how great it was, from Glen's opening set, when openers usually sound a bit muffled on the less extensive equipment, he sounded crystal clear and perfect. I had never heard him before (though I did see The Commitments about 15 years ago, so I guess I have...) and he was fantastic!
My husband and I came from Vancouver for the show. I am normally a very organized person, haven't forgotten to renew my 10C in over 10 years, but Thursday night when I got home from work I realized that my passport had expired two months ago! After googling everything I could think of, I was pretty sure it would be impossible to get it renewed to get to Seattle, especially since all the offices had closed for the day and Friday would only leave me one business day before the weekend... I was resigned to maybe missing night 1 and hopefully getting a new passport by the end of the day on Friday, which would mean losing my 10C tickets... BUT I still filled out all the applications, went and got new photos taken, cried a lot, and slept badly before getting up at 6am friday to head to the passport office for 7:30. I won't drag this story out any further since it's clear I ended up in Seattle for both shows, but I was amazed and extremely grateful to find out that it's possible to get a new passport in 4 hours! And yes, an Eddie Vedder show is considered an emergency for travelling, if you've already bought tickets and booked a hotel!
It was totally worth all the stress and rushing around, those shows were so amazing. I have seen Arc before, but it was nothing like it was at Benaroya Hall. It was all encompassing and so beautiful and mesmerizing. When the lights came back on, I'm pretty sure everyone around me was wiping their eyes.
My seats were at the front of the 2nd tier, which had a great, though fuzzy, view of the stage. I thought the audience was perfect that night and I had a wonderful time, though as others have mentioned, I was a bit scared in my seats. That little railing didn't make me feel very secure, though there were parts that so needed a standing ovation that I did have to stand, but I stayed WAY back, leaning against my seat.
Thank you Eddie and Glen. It was one of the most awesome shows I've been to, See you in Vancouver Eddie!
Glad things worked out so well for you. Incredible passport story!
Have to echo the sentiments of the very well put together reviews of the show: fabulous. EV is one of the coolest dudes out there. Music was awesome. Venue was awesome. Take out that one dork (who was really no more than a minor irritant 3-4 times throughout the entire show) and the crowd was excellent (you could have heard a pin drop during the 'unplugged' duet!).
I wondered about this as well and someone last week mentioned that it had to do with the solo project being an experiment. The labcoats were present when we saw Ed in Vancouver in 2008 as well.
Hey maybe a dumb question but is Deadman here Dead Man Walking?
yes it is....not a dumb question imo
Vancouver 1998, Seattle 2000, Seattle 2002, Vancouver 2003, Vancouver 2005, The Gorge 2006, Seattle 2 2009, Vancouver 2009, Ridgefield/Portland 2009, PJ20, Saskatoon 2011, Vancouver 2011, Buffalo 2013, Detroit 2014, Chicago/Wrigley August 2016
Acute- that was an amazing review!! Brought back so much of the night for me! Also was in from out of town for the concert... all the way from Baltimore! I was very very very fortunate enough to win a contest from a local station for an all expenses paid trip to see Eddie. I was convinced I wasn't going to win and more convinced the winner would be someone who didn't even really care about PJ but just wanted to win something.
Anyway, as part of my prize, the station asked me that I write up a little blog about my experience for their site. I could of went on about Eddie for 10 more paragraphs but tried to keep it short (also tried to limit my use of "awesome!" "amazing!"... I need a thesaurus).
Here it is for anyone who is interested. Thanks Seattle for being such an amazing city! I definitely hope to be back... preferably for PJ reasons!
Eddie was in a great mood to be back home and it was nice to see him at the end of a tour versus the beginning. Very relaxed vibe from him and by now he knows what's working with the setlist and what isn't. And Glen's voice at Benaroya Hall is beyond words so I won't even try. Also, a lot of people say that Morgan Freeman has the voice of God, but after tonight I'm pretty sure the voice of God is in Chris Worswick's cello.
The audience was very respectful, loud applauses and ovations when they were due and the kept quiet when it was time to keep quiet. If anyone tried to yell out random crap they were quick to get shooshed by everyone else. I haven't heard a room so silent in between lyrics of Sleepless Nights since Sigur Ros. Very few attention whores except for the big bearded guy in the third tier. If listening to the artist while being considerate to those around you and giving the artist their due welcome is being uptight, then Seattle is biggest bunch of uptight assholes I've ever come across.
Part of me wants to come across a spare ticket and go again tonight, another part of me wants to call it good and not run the chance of being let down when comparing it to last night.
OK. Sorry to call a spade a spade, but this wasn't a great show. I honestly can't believe some of the reviews here. What kind of koolaid were you drinking? Specifically, the guy above. "The audience was very respectful". BULLSHIT. The man asked for people to stop using flash photography, and then they continued. To the point Ed just said 'fuck it, get it out of your system'. It fucked up the vibe of the whole show.
The second night, on the other hand, was truly other worldly
OK. Sorry to call a spade a spade, but this wasn't a great show. I honestly can't believe some of the reviews here. What kind of koolaid were you drinking? Specifically, the guy above. "The audience was very respectful". BULLSHIT. The man asked for people to stop using flash photography, and then they continued. To the point Ed just said 'fuck it, get it out of your system'. It fucked up the vibe of the whole show.
The second night, on the other hand, was truly other worldly
Maybe it depends on your idea of a great show. I was at both nights and I thought night one was amazing and the audience was awesome. Night two was a great show, but it didn't have the same feeling. I had a fantastic time both nights, but as far as the audience goes, the night two crowd with all the yelling out requests and dumb comments made it less enjoyable than night one for me.
[/quote]OK. Sorry to call a spade a spade, but this wasn't a great show. I honestly can't believe some of the reviews here. What kind of koolaid were you drinking? Specifically, the guy above. "The audience was very respectful". BULLSHIT. The man asked for people to stop using flash photography, and then they continued. To the point Ed just said 'fuck it, get it out of your system'. It fucked up the vibe of the whole show.
The second night, on the other hand, was truly other worldly[/quote]
i think compared to other fanviews i've read on here from other shows before seattle, the crowd was pretty awesome.... i won't go into detail i wasn't drinking any koolaid that night, or even alcohol at the show..i was at both shows, btw
if a crowd can remain completely quiet through sleepless nights two nights in a row, to me that is a great crowd
but yeah, if only peeps would turn off their bloody flash, or just not take pics...that's the only complaint i have
Vancouver 1998, Seattle 2000, Seattle 2002, Vancouver 2003, Vancouver 2005, The Gorge 2006, Seattle 2 2009, Vancouver 2009, Ridgefield/Portland 2009, PJ20, Saskatoon 2011, Vancouver 2011, Buffalo 2013, Detroit 2014, Chicago/Wrigley August 2016
OK. Sorry to call a spade a spade, but this wasn't a great show. I honestly can't believe some of the reviews here. What kind of koolaid were you drinking? Specifically, the guy above. "The audience was very respectful". BULLSHIT. The man asked for people to stop using flash photography, and then they continued. To the point Ed just said 'fuck it, get it out of your system'. It fucked up the vibe of the whole show.
The second night, on the other hand, was truly other worldly
Relative to what you usually get when Eddie solo show this crowd was great. When he asked for people to stop using flashes, it was followed by a round of applause from the masses and it then did stop, except right after the appaluse is when Eddie said 'Fuck it, get it out of your system' and he did it in a light-hearted way. If the vibe of the show was killed for you there (10 minutes in), then I think you're struggling with some emotional intelligence issues.
OK. Sorry to call a spade a spade, but this wasn't a great show. I honestly can't believe some of the reviews here. What kind of koolaid were you drinking? Specifically, the guy above. "The audience was very respectful". BULLSHIT. The man asked for people to stop using flash photography, and then they continued. To the point Ed just said 'fuck it, get it out of your system'. It fucked up the vibe of the whole show.
The second night, on the other hand, was truly other worldly
Relative to what you usually get when Eddie solo show this crowd was great. When he asked for people to stop using flashes, it was followed by a round of applause from the masses and it then did stop, except right after the appaluse is when Eddie said 'Fuck it, get it out of your system' and he did it in a light-hearted way. If the vibe of the show was killed for you there (10 minutes in), then I think you're struggling with some emotional intelligence issues.
yeah his double finger cross pose was pretty funny...he wasn't THAT pissed off....it's not like he told someone specifically to fuck off
Vancouver 1998, Seattle 2000, Seattle 2002, Vancouver 2003, Vancouver 2005, The Gorge 2006, Seattle 2 2009, Vancouver 2009, Ridgefield/Portland 2009, PJ20, Saskatoon 2011, Vancouver 2011, Buffalo 2013, Detroit 2014, Chicago/Wrigley August 2016
OK. Sorry to call a spade a spade, but this wasn't a great show... "The audience was very respectful". BULLSHIT. The man asked for people to stop using flash photography, and then they continued. To the point Ed just said 'fuck it, get it out of your system'. It fucked up the vibe of the whole show.
So all those shows where Ed asks folks to stop yelling shit at him, those weren't great either? I'll have to disagree. Yes, he was annoyed, but yes, he made lite of it and it pretty much stopped. And it was hilarious.
The vibe of the show kicked right back up about 3 seconds later. Pin drop quiet unlike anything I'd heard at 6 previous shows, and freakin roar of the crowd as the last note of each and every song faded.
The scale to measure any Ed show STARTS at great and goes up past transcendental life-altering experience....
You didn't get in a fight with an usher and spend the encore talking on someone's answering machine, did you?
OK. Sorry to call a spade a spade, but this wasn't a great show... "The audience was very respectful". BULLSHIT. The man asked for people to stop using flash photography, and then they continued. To the point Ed just said 'fuck it, get it out of your system'. It fucked up the vibe of the whole show.
The scale to measure any Ed show STARTS at great and goes up past transcendental life-altering experience....
Go sell crazy someplace else. we're all stocked up here. on koolaid.
The scale to measure any Ed show STARTS at great and goes up past transcendental life-altering experience....
Post edited by hell_man_made on
Vancouver 1998, Seattle 2000, Seattle 2002, Vancouver 2003, Vancouver 2005, The Gorge 2006, Seattle 2 2009, Vancouver 2009, Ridgefield/Portland 2009, PJ20, Saskatoon 2011, Vancouver 2011, Buffalo 2013, Detroit 2014, Chicago/Wrigley August 2016
OK. Sorry to call a spade a spade, but this wasn't a great show... "The audience was very respectful". BULLSHIT. The man asked for people to stop using flash photography, and then they continued. To the point Ed just said 'fuck it, get it out of your system'. It fucked up the vibe of the whole show.
The scale to measure any Ed show STARTS at great and goes up past transcendental life-altering experience....
Go sell crazy someplace else. we're all stocked up here. on koolaid.
Ok I am as disappointed as anyone that night 2's set list was way way better than night 1's, and I couldn't get tickets to night 2. That being said, night 1 was still amazing, and I was grateful to be able to see Eddie Vedder perform live in an intimate setting regardless of the setlist. The audience was great, and I could tell at the end that Eddie was truly humbled by the roar of the crowd.
Member Number: 437xxx
Pearl Jam:
Key Arena - Seattle, WA - Sep 21, 2009
Pacific Coliseum - Vancouver, BC - Sep 25, 2011
Key Arena - Seattle, WA - Dec 6, 2013
Eddie Vedder Solo:
Benaroya Hall - Seattle, WA - Jul 15, 2011
Ok I know this is way late, cuz I don't come on here much..but I had to get my 2 cents in I was at both amazing shows that weekend, and though he played longer the 2nd night, and that night was so mind-blowingly good as well, I have to say night 1 was my favorite of the 2. The vibe was kick ass..so much love in the room that night. As for the crowd behavior, I found the night one crowd more respectful than the 2nd. Yeah, people were taking pictures at first, but he didn't have to tell us more than once. He finished a song, asked people to please stop, in the same breath gave us the photo op we all wanted (and he made it fun..damn it why didn't I have my camera ready!!) I don't really recall seeing much for camera flashes after that. At least not until the lights came up for the last 2 songs..
I'm really happy to see that others were so blown away by Arc. I'll admit, I was a Arc virgin before this (live, anyway)..And I was SO COMPLETELY shocked by the effect this song had on me. The lights go down, all you can see is a silhouette Ed on stage..you can hear a pin drop. He starts it off with that low, bass-y, gutteral note that (IMO) only Ed can hit with such a punch..the kind of note you feel deep in your stomach. Slowly in the dark he layers on pitch after pitch, harmonizing so perfectly with himself. His voice starts to bounce around the room, coming at you from every direction, surrounding you from the enormous speakers and rebounding off the room that was made to to do exactly that. Still, higher note by higher note, he builds it up, layer, by layer by layer, and every note is so exactly 'Ed', the Ed we all know and love and appreciate. He builds it and builds it until he's hitting the high, screaming, wild, make your heart jump from your throat kind of wail..It builds into this...orgy-atic feast for the senses..a mind-blowing crescendo of a climax, brought on simply by the power of his voice!! No instruments, nothing articficial, nothing and no one backing him up. There's not even any words in the song. Just him. It builds and layers and then blows your mind, and then he just.. walks off stage. And you're left completely surrounded by sound.
It's simply amazing.. In case you can't tell, I'm still completely in awe of the whole experience, and it's more than a month later. I may be biased to this particular version, but I have become a bit of an Arc "connoisseur" since this show, downloading every live version I can get my hands on all the way back from when he first started performing this song, and I swear I have yet to hear one better than Seattle night 1. I HOPE HOPE HOPE that if they make a DVD release of any of this tour, that they include this song. Clearly this song stands out as a high point of my weekend
But let me just add the whole show was awesome, my other highest points being Walking the Cow and Millworker and Falling Slowly, and the unplugged Sleepless Nights. Yes I was one of the "shuushers" at the start of that..LOL
All in all, aside from Seattle Key Arena Nov 6 2000, this was the best show of my life SO thankful I was a part of it..
Comments
I knew Elliot Bay Book Company was having a 20 percent off sale, so I took a casual 1 mile hike over there, sipping water, snapping photos of Seattle along the way. Folks at EB are awesome, hung out for over an hour with 2-3 different reps pulling books for my wife and kids. Left with my fully loaded second carry-on. Got a few smiles and thumbs up for my shirt (button shirt ditched in room).
And then a little gift from home, stumbled upon Specialties bakery -- simply the best cookies in SF, nice to see we could repay you for the awesome coffee, Seattle. Grabbed some cookies and a soda, and then over to Frans for the last gift for my fabulous wife ("I need my loved ones to let me go!") Yum!
Got my bearing on Rock Bottom, but had to get my goodies back to the cool confines of the hotel. Chatted with more folks in the lobby and elevator, everyone totally smiles and stoked for the night. Filled a laundry bag AND bucket with ice and got some water and soda iced down for after the show. Set a few cookies aside as well. A few.
Then I boogied over to the pre-party, complimented chalk-lady on her awesome street art! Good beer and company, nice to see the McCready Bobblehead on Auction! EV DVD playing, nice touch! Though I shielded my eyes, waiting for my songbook bundled with that. Thanks Wishlist Foundation! Great event!
But I didn't hang long, Rock Bottom was not my culinary destination. Started to rain (Indy's Release coming crashing back to me) as I made my way to Sazerac, great dishes and tasting flight of some fantastic WA wines -- meal would have been double the price in the Bay Area! Seattle! The Bargain Bay Area!
Now I was ready, but I had dallied too long! Got to Benaroya at 7pm and stood in line for that awesome poster through Glen's first few songs. Wish I had caught Hairshirt and Leave one more time ... goosebumps! Great folks from Toronto in line with me, everyone kept it light as we waited and waited. That was a nightmare ... but I'm glad I endured, popped out at intermission and those fantastic posters were GONE.
So, the S. Mark Taper Auditorium. Wow. Place gets PITCH BLACK. I was 2nd Tier Box N back in the left-hand rear corner, had the last seat in the box so I'm hanging in a corner to myself. And I'm afraid of heights, and those rails came up to my KNEES (and did I mention the beer and wine flight?) Sorry, I'm not standing for those ovations after nearly every song!
But the sound, fantastic. Great not to see extra security detail in there, just the typical ushers. Not much hassle in the boxes, but I saw a few deterrent flashlights here and there -- so much more relaxed than Oakland where security was simply brooding and menacing. Not fun.
Glen was awesome, worked in Faithful as well as Smile onto Astral Nights, apologized to Eddie, but said, "I've seen the setlist, no worries." I thought Liam was an excellent opener previously, still do -- better Hard Sun with drums and female accompaniment. But the vibe with Glen is just right, great fit, you can see the camaraderie between them. I'm a big fan now!
And then Eddie. As I posted from the airport Saturday morning ... just speechless. Folks have it right, crowd just so intently and intensely focused and quiet while he was singing, ('cept for that one bozo) and then just an absolute explosion after the last note is played.
Being a big fan, most of us can name that song in the first few notes. I always laugh when Ed finally starts singing and it lights someone up. That's a big song for you and you didn't know it until he sang? Thanks for the holler over ED SINGING! Heheh, yeah, I'll always have "critiques"....
I love Walking the Cow as an opener, sets the proper vibe for the show, the more relaxed lullaby style of these events, very "astral." Just launches me. One of my EV cover-favs (well, ok, they ALL are).
If there was one special moment in a night of such moments, the one gift we got was to hear Chris on Cello, the man who actually recorded Longing to Belong with Eddie. This was the first time he had played the track live with Eddie. I think all the songs had already made an appearance this tour.
And then when the full quartet come out, Eddie said, "Time to class up the joint." And introduced Lukin immediately saying, "I didn't say we'd play anything classy!"
But that final trio to end the first set was simply chilllllling, so emotional, what a sequence of songs: togetherness (Just Breathe), impending loss (The End), and primal scream of loss (Arc). Ouch. If your eyes were dry after that, you might wanna check if you have Asperger's! Reminds me of the opening sequence for "Up." A lifetime of joy, happiness and sorrow in 10 minutes.
And has been said, a phenomenal job on Arc -- it's different every time. I've seen it seven times now, not that I can remember each one, but Seattle just really lit me up.
And all of that just pales against Falling Slowly. I think that became the flag-bearer for this tour. Eddie's verse, "Well, you have suffered enough, and warred with yourself, it's time that you won." So loaded, so overpowering from his deep tenor at the beginning soaring up with the lyrics to his high wail....
It just encapsulated ever single reason I go to these shows. That line. That song. That show. The home crowd erupting as if a walk-off grandslam home run had just won the World Series. I can't really compare it to anything. I was at the show I needed to be at.
So many songs I wanted to hear, not that I hope for anything in particular anymore. No one had to call a medic for me because they were as much a basketcase as I after the soul-wrenchers. Not a bad song in the mix, not a single one I went, "meh..." And a new one on me, 4th of July, cool sing along! You need those light-flooding joy-filled peaks to handle those dark wrist-slashing valleys!
Oh my, I'm just so thankful to have witnessed that. Got to wrestle with some demons, unstuff some baggage, pack it all away and go skipping on my way by the end, whistling "Dream a Little Dream." Folks gobbling up Glen's albums at the merch table after, nice!
Stood in the rain across the street with some folks all just gushing as we waited for the sign to show Eddie's name and snap a shot. I had a few clubs lined up I was thinking of hitting, but knew I had an early flight, knew those cookies and an icy cold rootbeer was waiting for me in the hotel, knew I needed nothing else. Flopped down to SportCenter to see another Giants win, and back to the Light Rail and SeaTac at 8:30am, home by noon!
Turns out I wasn't speechless after all! I'm not sure I'll be able to shut up for weeks!
Take this sinking boat
And point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice
You had a choice
You've made it now
Falling slowly
Sing your melody
I'll sing it loud
Arc was spectacular, and I keep getting waves of the the voice from the last part of it. It was kind of a primal experience hearing that - and the last part of the vocals were so unmistakeably 'Eddie' - from some deep part of himself - I don't know why, but the voice there really had me feeling we were sharing a room with the early 90s incarnation of Mr Vedder. Stunning. I feel privileged to have been a part of that.
The End was really strong - Ed's voice all night was just cutting right through the room, so clearly - and with the End I was so right there with him. At various times during the concert I found myself getting a bit 'too' intense - and I was glad when he played Lukin and some punchier numbers to spare me from some dark wanderings into the wayout places of my soul
Funny you should mention Elliot Bay books acutejam - because I was wearing my newly purchased Elliot Bay T-shirt during the concert (although it was so friggin frosty in there I never took my jacket off - so nobody would have seen it). I love that store, and whenever I come to Seattle, that is one of my first places to visit. This time it was Day 1 of my holiday! I don't know a better shop really.
Good times!
Send my credentials to the house of detention
My husband and I came from Vancouver for the show. I am normally a very organized person, haven't forgotten to renew my 10C in over 10 years, but Thursday night when I got home from work I realized that my passport had expired two months ago! After googling everything I could think of, I was pretty sure it would be impossible to get it renewed to get to Seattle, especially since all the offices had closed for the day and Friday would only leave me one business day before the weekend... I was resigned to maybe missing night 1 and hopefully getting a new passport by the end of the day on Friday, which would mean losing my 10C tickets... BUT I still filled out all the applications, went and got new photos taken, cried a lot, and slept badly before getting up at 6am friday to head to the passport office for 7:30. I won't drag this story out any further since it's clear I ended up in Seattle for both shows, but I was amazed and extremely grateful to find out that it's possible to get a new passport in 4 hours! And yes, an Eddie Vedder show is considered an emergency for travelling, if you've already bought tickets and booked a hotel!
It was totally worth all the stress and rushing around, those shows were so amazing. I have seen Arc before, but it was nothing like it was at Benaroya Hall. It was all encompassing and so beautiful and mesmerizing. When the lights came back on, I'm pretty sure everyone around me was wiping their eyes.
My seats were at the front of the 2nd tier, which had a great, though fuzzy, view of the stage. I thought the audience was perfect that night and I had a wonderful time, though as others have mentioned, I was a bit scared in my seats. That little railing didn't make me feel very secure, though there were parts that so needed a standing ovation that I did have to stand, but I stayed WAY back, leaning against my seat.
Thank you Eddie and Glen. It was one of the most awesome shows I've been to, See you in Vancouver Eddie!
Have to echo the sentiments of the very well put together reviews of the show: fabulous. EV is one of the coolest dudes out there. Music was awesome. Venue was awesome. Take out that one dork (who was really no more than a minor irritant 3-4 times throughout the entire show) and the crowd was excellent (you could have heard a pin drop during the 'unplugged' duet!).
Really looking forward to Vancouver as well!
Did anybody mention what was with the white coats for the techs, which Ed through on for the last encore?
yes it is....not a dumb question imo
Ed: Seattle 1 & 2 2011, Bridge School 2011
Anyway, as part of my prize, the station asked me that I write up a little blog about my experience for their site. I could of went on about Eddie for 10 more paragraphs but tried to keep it short (also tried to limit my use of "awesome!" "amazing!"... I need a thesaurus).
Here it is for anyone who is interested. Thanks Seattle for being such an amazing city! I definitely hope to be back... preferably for PJ reasons!
http://www.wrnr.com/page.php?page_id=38703
"I miss you already... I miss you always."
Philly- 10.03.05
DC- 05.30.06
Philly- 10.31.09
NYC- 05.21.10
Seattle- 07.15.11
Brooklyn- 10.19.13
Baltimore!- 10.27.13
Philly- 4.29.16
OK. Sorry to call a spade a spade, but this wasn't a great show. I honestly can't believe some of the reviews here. What kind of koolaid were you drinking? Specifically, the guy above. "The audience was very respectful". BULLSHIT. The man asked for people to stop using flash photography, and then they continued. To the point Ed just said 'fuck it, get it out of your system'. It fucked up the vibe of the whole show.
The second night, on the other hand, was truly other worldly
Maybe it depends on your idea of a great show. I was at both nights and I thought night one was amazing and the audience was awesome. Night two was a great show, but it didn't have the same feeling. I had a fantastic time both nights, but as far as the audience goes, the night two crowd with all the yelling out requests and dumb comments made it less enjoyable than night one for me.
The second night, on the other hand, was truly other worldly[/quote]
i think compared to other fanviews i've read on here from other shows before seattle, the crowd was pretty awesome.... i won't go into detail
if a crowd can remain completely quiet through sleepless nights two nights in a row, to me that is a great crowd
but yeah, if only peeps would turn off their bloody flash, or just not take pics...that's the only complaint i have
Ed: Seattle 1 & 2 2011, Bridge School 2011
Relative to what you usually get when Eddie solo show this crowd was great. When he asked for people to stop using flashes, it was followed by a round of applause from the masses and it then did stop, except right after the appaluse is when Eddie said 'Fuck it, get it out of your system' and he did it in a light-hearted way. If the vibe of the show was killed for you there (10 minutes in), then I think you're struggling with some emotional intelligence issues.
Ed: Seattle 1 & 2 2011, Bridge School 2011
So all those shows where Ed asks folks to stop yelling shit at him, those weren't great either? I'll have to disagree. Yes, he was annoyed, but yes, he made lite of it and it pretty much stopped. And it was hilarious.
The vibe of the show kicked right back up about 3 seconds later. Pin drop quiet unlike anything I'd heard at 6 previous shows, and freakin roar of the crowd as the last note of each and every song faded.
The scale to measure any Ed show STARTS at great and goes up past transcendental life-altering experience....
You didn't get in a fight with an usher and spend the encore talking on someone's answering machine, did you?
Is there a doctor in the house? What exactly are 'emotional intelligence issues'?
Go sell crazy someplace else. we're all stocked up here. on koolaid.
Ed: Seattle 1 & 2 2011, Bridge School 2011
Ok I am as disappointed as anyone that night 2's set list was way way better than night 1's, and I couldn't get tickets to night 2. That being said, night 1 was still amazing, and I was grateful to be able to see Eddie Vedder perform live in an intimate setting regardless of the setlist. The audience was great, and I could tell at the end that Eddie was truly humbled by the roar of the crowd.
Pearl Jam:
Key Arena - Seattle, WA - Sep 21, 2009
Pacific Coliseum - Vancouver, BC - Sep 25, 2011
Key Arena - Seattle, WA - Dec 6, 2013
Eddie Vedder Solo:
Benaroya Hall - Seattle, WA - Jul 15, 2011
I'm really happy to see that others were so blown away by Arc. I'll admit, I was a Arc virgin before this (live, anyway)..And I was SO COMPLETELY shocked by the effect this song had on me. The lights go down, all you can see is a silhouette Ed on stage..you can hear a pin drop. He starts it off with that low, bass-y, gutteral note that (IMO) only Ed can hit with such a punch..the kind of note you feel deep in your stomach. Slowly in the dark he layers on pitch after pitch, harmonizing so perfectly with himself. His voice starts to bounce around the room, coming at you from every direction, surrounding you from the enormous speakers and rebounding off the room that was made to to do exactly that. Still, higher note by higher note, he builds it up, layer, by layer by layer, and every note is so exactly 'Ed', the Ed we all know and love and appreciate. He builds it and builds it until he's hitting the high, screaming, wild, make your heart jump from your throat kind of wail..It builds into this...orgy-atic feast for the senses..a mind-blowing crescendo of a climax, brought on simply by the power of his voice!! No instruments, nothing articficial, nothing and no one backing him up. There's not even any words in the song. Just him. It builds and layers and then blows your mind, and then he just.. walks off stage. And you're left completely surrounded by sound.
It's simply amazing.. In case you can't tell, I'm still completely in awe of the whole experience, and it's more than a month later. I may be biased to this particular version, but I have become a bit of an Arc "connoisseur" since this show, downloading every live version I can get my hands on all the way back from when he first started performing this song, and I swear I have yet to hear one better than Seattle night 1. I HOPE HOPE HOPE that if they make a DVD release of any of this tour, that they include this song. Clearly this song stands out as a high point of my weekend
But let me just add the whole show was awesome, my other highest points being Walking the Cow and Millworker and Falling Slowly, and the unplugged Sleepless Nights. Yes I was one of the "shuushers" at the start of that..LOL
All in all, aside from Seattle Key Arena Nov 6 2000, this was the best show of my life